1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of umbrellas. More specifically, the present invention relates to umbrellas with a collapsible canopy which is retractable into an outer housing.
2. Description of Related Art
Various umbrella designs are well known in the prior art and are used for providing weather protection. Conventional umbrellas typically include a central rod and a canopy provided at one end which is collapsible downwardly around the central rod when the umbrella is not in use. Other conventional umbrella designs include folding canopies that make the umbrella compact. However, all these conventional umbrella designs share a limitation in that after use in the rain, the water which remains on the canopy can easily drip on to the umbrella user as the umbrella is downwardly collapsed into a closed configuration. In this regard, a substantial quantity of water may drip down to wet the user, especially if the umbrella allows rain to pool on its canopy. In addition, because the collapsed canopy material is exposed when the umbrella is closed, the water on the collapsed canopy can also easily wet the user's clothing, a vehicle interior, the floor, etc. (i.e. where ever the umbrella is stored after use). Moreover, because the collapsed canopy material is exposed, the umbrella has a cluttered appearance which is aesthetically undesirable.
Different umbrella designs where the collapsible canopy is retracted into an outer housing are also known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,131 to Voigt discloses a foldable umbrella including a hollow central shank assembly with a displaceable piston plate to which flexible support ribs and central edges of the canopy are attached. The other ends of the flexible supports are attached to the peripheral edges of the canopy and are positioned to protrude through horizontal guides at the tip of the shank assembly which lend support to the flexible supports. The umbrella is opened by displacing the piston plate via a telescopic shaft toward the guides such that the flexible supports extend radially outwardly through the horizontal guides into an open position. Extension of the flexible supports causes the flexible supports to pull the canopy out from the shank assembly, effectively creating an umbrella. The umbrella is closed by pulling the piston away from the guides which reverses the described opening process and pulls the flexible supports and the canopy into the shank assembly.
Similar to the foregoing, U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,137 to Simonelli discloses an umbrella that consists of an elongated hollow shaft having an open top for housing flexible ribs similar to that disclosed in Voigt. Simonelli operates the canopy so that the ribs, together with the canopy, extends from the top of the handle in the open configuration and the ribs and the canopy are retracted into the handle in the closed configuration. Simonelli differs from Voigt in that instead of a pushing a telescopic shaft, Simonelli provides a slidable mechanism which slide along the hollow shaft to displace a runner to which the flexible ribs are attached.
These umbrella designs do alleviate some of the disadvantages of the more conventional umbrella designs in that they encase the collapsed canopy in an outer shaft when the umbrella is closed so that water drip is reduced when the umbrella is stored after use. In addition, because these umbrella designs also encase the collapsed canopy, it allows the umbrella to have a clean and uncluttered outward appearance which is aesthetically much more desirable than conventional umbrellas. However, these designs still have some significant disadvantages that are not addressed or are introduced by the nature of their design.
First, these designs of Voigt and Simonelli still have the tendency to allow the user to get wet by the accumulated water on the canopy as the canopy is being retracted into the outer housing since the downwardly arched shape of the fully opened canopy is maintained for at least a substantial portion of the closing process. In addition, the use of flexible ribs and proper design of such ribs have been found to be difficult and costly since they need to be flexible enough to be encased in the outer housing while at the same time, be rigid enough to fully and functionally support the canopy. In this regard, these types of designs have been found to be especially prone to inversion of the canopy than conventional umbrella designs during windy conditions and when there is buffeting of the wind as caused by building structures etc. While this allows gust alleviation and minimizes potential damage to these retractable umbrellas, it has been found that when enough flexibility is designed into the flexible ribs to allow retraction into the outer housing, the flexible ribs were easily inverted by the slighted wind gust and buffeting. Of course, such frequent inversion of the canopy is undesirable and aggravate the user of the umbrella who must correct the inverted condition. This ease of inversion is also attributable to the lack of any structurally reinforcing members that support the proper orientation of the canopy. Furthermore, because significant amount of frictional contact occurs between the end of the outer housing, the flexible ribs and the canopy during the retraction of the umbrella into its closed configuration, these umbrella designs have been found to be much less durable than conventional umbrellas. The frictional contact has been found to rub and wear the components such as the flexible ribs and the canopy material. In addition, the canopy material often became pinched during the opening or closing of the umbrella thereby binding the umbrella in a partially open state and unreliable.
Therefore, there is an unfulfilled need for an improved umbrella that may be retracted into an outer housing which minimizes the potential for wetting the user when the canopy is being retracted. There is also an unfulfilled need for such an umbrella which is cost effective and avoids the design difficulties of the prior art designs. There is further an unfulfilled need for such an umbrella which is resistant to inverting during windy conditions, minimizes frictional contact during operation to improve the durability of the umbrella and minimizes binding of the canopy to improve reliability of the umbrella.